英文名著的讀后感

　　范文一

　　傲慢與偏見

　　The novel opens with the famous line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.". and ends with two marriages: Jane and Bingley's, as well as Darcy and Elizabeth's. Both couples are assumed to live happily ever after.

　　Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet is the core of the family. Elizabeth is the second of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's five daughters, and is an intelligent, bold, attractive twenty-year-old when the story begins. In addition to being her father's favourite, Elizabeth is characterized as a sensible, yet stubborn, woman. Misled by his cold outward behaviour, Elizabeth originally holds Mr. Darcy in contempt. However, she finds that Mr. Darcy improves on acquaintance, more so than she would expect.

　　Fitzwilliam Darcy (commonly known as Mr. Darcy) is the central male character and Elizabeth's second love interest in the novel. He is an intelligent, wealthy, extremely handsome and reserved 28-year-old man, who often appears haughty or proud to strangers but possesses an honest and kind nature underneath. Initially, he considers Elizabeth his social inferior, unworthy of his attention, but he finds that, despite his inclinations, he cannot deny his feelings for Elizabeth. His initial proposal of marriage is rejected because of his pride and Elizabeth's prejudice against him; however, at the end of the novel, after their relationship has blossomed, he is happily engaged to a loving Elizabeth.

　　Role of women in the 18th century

　　In late-18th-century England, women were relegated to secondary roles in society with respect to property and social responsibilities. For example, women were not permitted to visit new arrivals to the neighbourhood (such as Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice) until the male head of their household had first done so. Women were under enormous pressure to marry for the purpose of securing their financial futures and making valuable social connections for their families. Therefore, marriage, though romanticised, was in many ways a financial transaction and social alliance rather than a matter of love. Although Jane Austen did not condone loveless marriages (she stayed single all her life), she did approve of matches having equality in various respects, including wealth, social status, love and character. In Pride and Prejudice, wealth, social status, chastity (and the perception of chastity) and physical attractiveness are depicted as factors affecting a woman's chances for a good marriage.

　　范文二

　　遠離塵囂

　　Much of the plot of Far from the Madding Crowd depends on unrequited love — love by one person for another that is not mutual in that the other person does not feel love in return. The novel is driven, from the first few chapters, by Gabriel Oak's love for Bathsheba. Once he has lost his farm, he is free to wander anywhere in search of work, but he heads to Weatherbury because it is in the direction that Bathsheba has gone. This move leads to Oak's employment at Bathsheba's farm, where he patiently consoles her in her troubles and supports her in tending the farm, with no sign he will ever have his love returned.

　　This novel focuses on the way that catastrophe can occur at any time, threatening to change lives. The most obvious example occurs when Oak's flock of sheep is destroyed by an unlikely confluence of circumstances, including an inexperienced sheep dog, a rotted rail, and a chalk pit that happens to have been dug adjacent to his land. In one night, Oak's future as an independent farmer is destroyed, and he ends up begging just to secure the diminished position of a shepherd.

　　This novel offers modern readers a clear picture of how important social position was in England in the nineteenth century and of the opportunities that existed to change class, in either direction. In the beginning, Oak and Bathsheba are social equals: he is an independent farmer who rents his land, and she lives on her aunt's farm next door to his, which is presumably similar in value. The only thing that keeps her from accepting his proposal of marriage is the fact that she just does not want to be married yet. After Oak loses his farm and Bathsheba inherits her uncle's farm, there is little question of whether they can marry — their social positions are too different. She is more socially compatible with Boldwood, who owns the farm next to hers and is in a similar social position.